Arranging objects

Stack objects

In a layer, Animate stacks objects in the order in which they are created, placing the most recently created object at the top of the stack. The stacking order of objects determines how they appear when they overlap. You can change the stacking order of objects at any time.

Drawn lines and shapes always appear below groups and symbols on the stack. To move them up the stack, you must group them or make them into symbols.

Layers also affect the stacking order. Everything on Layer 2 appears in front of everything on Layer 1, and so on. To change the order of layers, drag the layer name in the Timeline to a new position.

Select the object.

Do one of the following:

Select
Modify > Arrange > Bring To Front Or Send
To Back to move the object or group to the top or bottom of the
stacking order.

Select Modify > Arrange >
Bring Forward Or Send Backward to move the object or group forward
or backward one position in the stacking order.

If more than one group is selected, the groups move in
front of or behind all unselected groups, while maintaining their
order relative to each other.

Align objects

The Align panel lets you align selected objects along the horizontal or vertical axis. You can align objects vertically along the right edge, center, or left edge of the selected objects, or horizontally along the top edge, center, or bottom edge of the selected objects.

Edit a group or an object within
a group

Select
the group, and then select Edit > Edit Selected, or
double-click the group with the Selection tool.

Everything on the page that is not part of the group is
dimmed, indicating that elements outside the group are inaccessible.

Edit any element within the group.

Select Edit > Edit All, or double-click a
blank spot on the Stage with the Selection tool.

Animate restores the group to its status as a single entity, and you can work with other elements on the Stage.

Break apart groups and objects

To
separate groups, instances, and bitmaps into ungrouped, editable
elements, you break them apart, which significantly reduces the
file size of imported graphics.

Although you can select Edit >
Undo immediately after breaking apart a group or object, breaking
apart is not entirely reversible. It affects objects as follows:

Severs a symbol instance’s link to its master symbol

Discards all but the current frame in an animated symbol

Converts a bitmap to a fill

Places each character into a separate text block when applied
to text blocks

Converts characters to outlines when applied to a single
text character.

Do not confuse the Break Apart command with
the Ungroup command. The Ungroup command separates grouped objects,
returning grouped elements to the state they were in before grouping.
It does not break apart bitmaps, instances, or type, or convert
type to outlines.

Select the group, bitmap, or symbol to break apart.

Select Modify > Break Apart.

Note:

Breaking apart animated symbols, or groups in an interpolated
animation is not recommended and might have unpredictable results.
Breaking apart complex symbols and large blocks of text can take
a long time. You might need to increase the application’s memory
allocation to properly break apart complex objects.